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Beat the Streak Report: Wednesday, June 2

Hi-fives all around Streakland yesterday, as an incredible 13 of the top 15 selections for the day each laced hits, combining to extend the streaks of about 45 percent of the universe.

Magglio Ordonez was the day’s biggest Debbie Downer, going 0-for-4 against the Indians and disproving the common misnomer that despite what most think, Beat the Streak is not like the SATs — you don’t automatically get a hit by just writing in your name and selecting a batter vs. the Indians.

Anyway, my mailbox was incredibly flooded yesterday with e-mails from you folks with stellar ideas, questions and changes you’d like to see with the BTS Report and the BTS game in general. I’ll post a full mailbag edition on the Beat the Streak blog update later in the day, so there is still time for you to send in your splendid and definitely way-smarter-than-anything-I-could-dream-of ideas to me, just drop me a line at david.feldman@mlb.com.

41 Comments

These are the top 3 to lose their streaks because of failing to make a pick.
donmohrmann19 19 Robinson Cano No Selection
bizbanker10 17 17 Elvis Andrus No Selection
jehawk3 14 14 Robinson Cano No Selection

These are the top 3 users to lose their streaks because they failed to select a player.
donmohrmann 19 19 Robinson Cano No Selection
bizbanker10 17 17 Elvis Andrus No Selection
jehawk3 14 14 Robinson Cano No Selection

I’ll email this to David, but anyone think of any reasonable objections:
Change: Double header rule rewrite. Each game in a double header allows streak to continue. So if you pick a player and he gets hit in both games, streak increases by 2 not 1.
Issues to be resolved for selection by MLB.
1) Change web site to allow more than one player to be picked in double headers.
2) If not possible to select 2 different players, allow contestants to pick one player.
3) Update the rules page to reflect any changes.
The logic is simple. Joe D., himself, played in 7 double headers during his streak. Per MLB rules, each game played counts towards a streak. Other than this rule and the modified suspended games rules, BTS follows MLB rules pretty much to the T.
The biggest objection I can think of is this. Since the Grand Prize is 1st come, the following scenario can be viewed as unfair, but per MLB rules it really shouldn’t be. MickMouse & DonDuck are BTS players with streaks of 30, ok. MicMouse picks player in game rescheduled to a double header and streaks remains at 30. DonDuck picks player from different game and streak is now 31. The double header is played next day and both pick hitters from that double header and both get hits in both games. MicMouse streak is now 32 but DonDuck streak is 33 though they were tied the day before. Additionally all other BTS players that did not pick the double header advance 1 if hitters hit. Keep in mind there are several double headers per year.
Would the rule change be unfair? If the double header hitters failed, then MicMouse & DonDuck would be at 1 or 0 depending on which game they failed in. The contestants can determine if the risk is worth the reward: Streak+2 or Streak reset to 0 or 1.
P.S. I don’t suggest to only allow those that picked in the cancelled game be allowed to move 2 in the double header to make up for that canceled game. But without the rule change, those that pick in the canceled game are, in effect, punished because they cannot regain that lost opportunity of moving up one game in their streaks. Similar logic could be applied to MLB Survivor but I won’t go there at this time.

An alternative may be to not make the grand prize 1st come, but best record at end of season. This would not penalize anyone picking from a game that is canceled. Odds are astronomical, but let’s say 2 players are tied at 56 and the magic day is now here…. One picks a game that is canceled for any reason and is rescheduled. The other doesn’t and wins the jackpot. Was that fair? No, of course not.
BTS current rule: “The first eligible participant, if any, to achieve at least a fifty-seven (57) game hitting streak … [wins]”

I guess I’m going with Cano. Was thinking about someone from the early game, but I don’t want to jinx myself. The past 5 games, I’ve picked a Yankee and I’ve been successful so far. Hopefully it continues today.

Just an FYI all about changing picks at the 11th hour…….at about 12:53 I changed my pick from my Iphone and it never registered. Did in the phone but my original pick is now locked in. Hopefully Prado will get a hit. Wanted to go with Jeter after reading the report. Good luck to all of you!!!!! 🙂

nardberg, it does that for me on my blackberry. I log in through m.mlb.com or wap.mlb.com and make a pick, and when I go to mlb.com on my computer, the old picks are there instead of what I picked on my phone. Or sometimes it’s vice versa. I will pick on my computer and on my phone it’s the old pick. Very weird, but I know who I picked and that’s all that matters.

David, w/e u do, please don’t go crazy. The game may be hard as sh!t but I think the way the rules r now r just fine. I could understand Lavolpe’s idea of ur streak increasing by 2 on doubleheader’s but honestly not much more. I hope the ideas u r getting, if changed, do not ruin the game.

nymets – who counts then? Prado is my pick on my laptop but Jeter is my pick in the phone. Now I know Prado already hit but in all fairness the pick should be Jeter since I did submit it before 1:00. Did it update for you???

Mine didn’t either, but I know I picked Cano, it’s still showing Kemp I believe on my phone. Eventually it will catch up and all will be fine. Not sure what I did to get them to eventually become the same, but they did.

nardberg, go onto your iphone and make sure all picks are the same as on your computer, except today of course. Are they the same? If the ones on your iphone are different, change the one for tomorrow so that it matches and all should then match, including today. Worked for me anyway.

Well the plot thickens! All of my previous picks match. On my laptop, if I’m in the “pick player” screen it still says Prado, but if I go to the results page it has Jeter. I guess it takes awhile to catch up. Shoot this is why I should leave my picks alone LOL…….I steered clear of Cano only because I’m wary of choosing a player with a high hitting streak – I seem to pick them the day they have an 0-for. 🙂 Good luck – thanks for the help!

It did that to me once too and it eventually straightened itself out. No problem! Just trying to help anyway I can. I’m hoping Cano’s streak doesn’t end tonight. I want to get to 12 hits before I start having any trouble. Right now I’m at 6.

Hoping the Cubs game comes in else a no-pick equivalent for McCutchen, Theriot and other players on those teams. Go figure, BTS player pick page, this AM, said weather is Clear , while the down-pour is occurring, changed to Cloudy and 1.5 hours into the delay, changed to T-Storms. According to radio station: looks like no rain stoppage in the near future and field is in “horrible” condition. Maybe relying on the weather forecast in the player’s pick page is not a good idea and better to check Weather.com😉

Oh and my “no-pick equivalent” statement above does not mean same as “no selection” — bad wording on my part. If game is rescheduled; same as picking a player that didn’t play; no effect on your streak especially if you are at zero right now like me😦

Blogger Alert – Time to fall “out of love” with Manny Ramirez
He is a streak breaker waiting to happen each day. Will he play or won’t he play. At age 38 he won’t be legging out any infield hits. Yes he will hit his share of HR’s and get some hits but to rely on him is crazy. What muscle will he pull next and be taken out of a game while he is 0-2 in the fifth inning?

Ok, I know there are a few Tigers Fans in here. So where does MLB go from here? That had to be one of the worst blown calls in quite a while and Jim Joyce even admitted to it after seeing replay. Should instant replay be put into effect immediately??? I say YES!!( would have used the U like Grande Amigo hinted at, but i dont feel like looking for it. Next post I make with iPhone I’ll use it.) There were some people hinting at Selig stepping in and actually reversing the call and awarding Gallaraga with the Perfecto, but I dont think that anything CAN or SHOULD be done now. The game is over and the bad call was made. Like it or not, instant replay should be used for more than just HR calls.
Thats just my 2 cents worth.

I agree with you 00liber. Nothing can be done now since the game is over and even if they overturned it, it wouldn’t be the same. Half the fun of throwing a perfect game is the celebration on the field afterward. Are they supposed to run on the field the next day and pretend it just happened and then celebrate anyway, or have a champagne toast in the clubhouse just for fun? No…oh well, it is just too bad. I think using replays could be a good thing but then managers would want to have a replay of everything. Either way, that was a perfect game in my book and he retired 28 straight. What a performance from a guy who was just called up from triple A last month. Great game!!

Ichiro will get at least one more AB unless pulled from the game. But if Ichiro goes down today, that’s two recent “gray train” players as Jeter also went down. Cano tomorrow or the next day? The trick is to jump on that gravy train early and get off before the last stop. Haven’t figured out yet how to do that exactly.

Ichiro leads off the 8th and I am hoping he gets a hit or the game stays tied. Cano may go down tomorrow. I felt it would be today but it wasn’t. Think about this. Earlier this year Cano had a hitting streak going and he lost it against Millwood and that is who is pitching tomorrow. I have Prado tomorrow but may change to Ichiro. Cano’s hitting streak has to end sometime and it may be tomorrow. I just got off work so sorry for not posting all day.

“The game is over and the bad call was made. Like it or not, instant replay should be used for more than just HR calls.”

The thing is though, I doubt instant replay would have been used here, since the umpire seemed so sure he was safe. I mean, he did not even ask for help from the other umpires, since he was clearly either not paying attention or just had a mental block, because if he truly thought he was safe and paying full attention, he should be sent down to the minor leagues.

I wish they would ask Joyce though if he called Donald safe because he thought Cabrera bobbled the ball in his glove, because that, at least, would have some merit, and the official scorer would then have jurisdiction to change the hit to an error and he could still have a no-hitter.

“The game is over and the bad call was made. Like it or not, instant replay should be used for more than just HR calls.”

The thing is though, I doubt instant replay would have been used here, since the umpire seemed so sure he was safe. I mean, he did not even ask for help from the other umpires, since he was clearly either not paying attention or just had a mental block, because if he truly thought he was safe and paying full attention, he should be sent down to the minor leagues.

I wish they would ask Joyce though if he called Donald safe because he thought Cabrera bobbled the ball in his glove, because that, at least, would have some merit, and the official scorer would then have jurisdiction to change the hit to an error and he could still have a no-hitter.

“Cano may go down tomorrow. I felt it would be today but it wasn’t. Think about this. Earlier this year Cano had a hitting streak going and he lost it against Millwood and that is who is pitching tomorrow.”

Personally I stay away from Millwood b/c he cost me my 17 in middle of Apr, taking out Ichi 3 times and BB. And i agree, Cano has to end sooner or later. I’m staying away from the Yanks all together tommorow. GL

As for replay issue, I think that if MLB did something the way the NFL enforces it giving the coach/manager 2 challenges, with possibility of 3rd, that it might be effective.
M

It wasn’t Cano that lost a hitting streak to Millwood it was Jeter. I made a mistake. I remember I picked the person and I should of picked Swisher that night and I thought it was Cano so my mistake but I would still avoid Cano today.

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